The present invention relates to inventory management methods and more specifically to a mobile inventory management system.
One of the primary value propositions for tagging items with radio frequency identification (RFID) labels is the ability to monitor store inventory and automate the replenishment process. As the scenario is described, RFID-enabled store shelves will constantly query their contents and report the results to a store inventory system. When a certain product falls below a specific threshold (or is completely depleted), store personnel are automatically notified to replenish the item.
The current problem with this scenario is primarily the cost of the RFID system. Ignoring the cost issues associated with placing RFID tags on each item in the store, there is a substantial infrastructure cost to equip the store premises with an effective, storewide RFID system.
For example, most standard RFID readers are only effective at a range of one to two meters, and do not “read” accurately through metal shelving. Thus, a separate antenna would probably be required on each shelf of every four-foot metal shelf in the store. A large store might need hundreds or thousands of antennae to fully instrument all their shelves.
Especially now, when the economics of item-level RFID tagging have not been demonstrated, the huge cost of installing antennae, readers, and associated wiring will prevent many retailers from widely deploying RFID in their stores for quite some time.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a less expensive alternative including a mobile inventory management system.